Anyone Notice . . .

[bbneutralfan]

The obvious black square on the Jumbotron this evening at the Joan? Looks like some pixels are burned out. Kinda annoying considering in two weeks Louisville comes to town. Hopefully it will be fixed by next Saturday. BTW wonder how beer sales went tonight? The vendors were in my Section (114) but I did not really notice how many people were purchasing a beer to make the beat down we were giving Morgan State a little more palatable.

 

[joeyb184]

Lmao thank goodness someone else mentioned it hahaha i know it is nitpicking but cmon the home opener and we cant even ensure the video screens are working properly. Jumbotron had a small square but the whole bottom right corner of the other one was missing. Couldnt even hardly see the ads on the bottom corner. Also the scanners to scan tickets was messing up pretty bad the guy told me "these things just sit in a closet all year til the season starts and they dont work right when you store them that way. Ive already had to trade out about ten of these today".... umm maybe checking equipment prior to game day would be a good idea if that is the case. It isn't like we didnt know the season was about to start and didnt have time to correct the issues. Oh well though Herd won and that is all that really matters.

 

[oldeherd]

Lot of what you would call minor first game "glitches", IMO. Pre game presentation during band intro, team coming on the field, etc., seemed a little disjointed to me.

Band played intro music, then sort of stood around for couple of minutes or more before team came out. After playing of National Anthem, announcer said to remain standing and look at scoreboards for playing of alma mater. In previous years, words to alma mater were flashed on the board; this year, just revolving "M" on the scoreboards. Oh, well, they say "greatest improvement" is between games 1 and 2. Winning 62-0 over a bad FCS leaves little else to "complain" about. Wonder if Morgan State will win more games this year than that Rhode Island team did whom we played a couple years ago.

 

[TheGreenhouseEffect]

I always hear of theses things and ask can't we assign stadium operations to a specific employee and ensure he's on the checklist?

 

[Crawdad345]

There were also a couple of sections of pixels out on the ribbon boards on the front of the Shewey. It's hard to believe that these things weren't checked out a month ago to be sure everything was ready to go, but with that many problems in that many different areas, it appears that is the case. It reminded me of a high school board back in the day with half of the bulbs burned out. I just hope they get them fixed before the Louisville game.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

I think we have an Asst. Ad of facilities and game operations. Where were they?
Prepare, plan and communicate. It's not that hard.

 

[bbneutralfan]

I'm glad them that I wasn't the only person who noticed these things. We are supposed to be a D1 program. If so, with all the assistants Hamrick has someone needs to be reminded of their job description.

 

[whf2]

You guys do realize that the first time these issues could have occurred is when they turned the electronics on yesterday. Not saying that's the case, but there had to be a first time for the troubles.

 

[redsfan5590]

As far as the pixels that could have just been unfortunate timing... But the presentation, and game atmosphere is what needs to be corrected and since its been that way for years I don't see it changing. There are just certain things we always do.

Was anyone else annoyed by the guy standing on the field yelling instructions into the microphone the entire time we were doing the we are Marshall chant? I like the idea of having him there to get the crowd amped, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows how to do the chant we don't need to explain it, then talk over everyone doing it.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

You guys do realize that the first time these issues could have occurred is when they turned the electronics on yesterday. Not saying that's the case, but there had to be a first time for the troubles.

That could be but one would think they would do a test run beforehand to fix these issues.

 

[Herdon2]

Unless it was just bad luck and the boards went out at the start of the game then this issue should have been addressed well before yesterday. On the main scoreboard the entire lower section of the board went out at one point. Just gotta get our stuff together on gamedays. Just don't get why we can't run our GameDay like a big time college.

 

[bbneutralfan]

Moderators any chance you can bring this to the attention of the athletic department just in case they did not notice! I can not imagine that they did not notice but stranger things have happened!

 

[nowalk1979]

I think Jason Toy needs his mic muted from time to time....especially during a We Are Marshall chant

 

[scuberman]

Something that bothered me was the music selection during dead ball situations. I understand the game is for the student, but come on, don't make it all rap.

 

[TheGreenhouseEffect]

Something that bothered me was the music selection during dead ball situations. I understand the game is for the student, but come on, don't make it all rap.

I've always thought we should play some of the classic early 70s music from we are Marshall. Perhaps A little Bob Seeger, a little Rolling Stones,a little Vivaldi even for time outs a winters concerto. Personally I hate rap except gold digger, which for me has a a personal theme, lol! Yeah play gold digger !

 

[Herdcane3]

I didn't notice , but I also wasn't looking for it. All rap? They played like 2 rap songs early, the Fresh Prince song and that was about it...thought they could have played more of it. Gets the players hyped. I'm sure I'm in the minority there though.

 

[oldeherd]

Well, lets hope some of this gets looked at with some action taken by the proper personnel in the athletic department, maintenance department, etc. Just all we need would be a MAJOR scoreboard malfunction during our nationally broadcast game with Akron or, even worse, during a national broadcast of our home game with what could be a top 5 to 10 ranked Louisville team before an OVERFLOW crowd at the Joan!!!

 

[Herdmeister]

There were also a couple of sections of pixels out on the ribbon boards on the front of the Shewey. It's hard to believe that these things weren't checked out a month ago to be sure everything was ready to go, but with that many problems in that many different areas, it appears that is the case. It reminded me of a high school board back in the day with half of the bulbs burned out. I just hope they get them fixed before the Louisville game.

You should have seen them a month ago. Many, many lights were out.

 

[Herdon2]

I didn't notice , but I also wasn't looking for it. All rap? They played like 2 rap songs early, the Fresh Prince song and that was about it...thought they could have played more of it. Gets the players hyped. I'm sure I'm in the minority there though.

I liked the Fresh Prince song but wish they had stuck to the TV version. I had never heard the extended version they played and people were singing along and then it went into different words and no one knew them. I had never heard it. Just play what people know.

 

[herdalicious]

The video boards and speaker system were installed in 2010, but by 2013 you could see and hear that they were already starting to degrade. I'm not going to say that IMG didn't buy us top-of-the-line gear when we renewed with them in 2010, but I sure hope they kept the receipt and warranty information.

I miss the old-school board that was on the Shewey - the one that gave you passing, rushing, and total yardage statistics for both teams throughout the game. I wish they'd have left that and focused their resources into the main endzone board, maybe added the speakers on top of the Shewey (that had been promised but were eventually cut out of the deal). I guess the fear was that if we had a scoreboard that had stats on it, we'd all be too busy watching a football game to notice the ads on the other board.

 

[MarshallManiac]

I would LOVE to have a scoreboard that shows updated stats throughout the game.

 

[herdalicious]

Oh it was great. The board had the latest in light bulb technology.

I try not to be an old fogey, bitching on my front porch about the sound of the kids' music, but at some point in the last 10-15 years, college football start stealing from minor league baseball's playbook, and now games sort of have that feel. The game itself doesn't matter - look what's happening on Instagram #BEATMORGANSTATE! - its just a bunch of flashing ads screaming over top of each other while a football game happens underneath.

Its like what Jackie Mason did to the country club in "Caddyshack II" (which is also why most of you have never watched "Caddyshack II").

 

[Herdcane3]

I liked the Fresh Prince song but wish they had stuck to the TV version. I had never heard the extended version they played and people were singing along and then it went into different words and no one knew them. I had never heard it. Just play what people know.

"
I agree 100%. I knew the extra part that was tacked on to the first verse because that was originally on the first couple episodes aired. Then they went into the second verse and I looked at my GF like WTF, had NEVER heard that version before, it was definitely confusing.

 

[oldeherd]

The video boards and speaker system were installed in 2010, but by 2013 you could see and hear that they were already starting to degrade. I'm not going to say that IMG didn't buy us top-of-the-line gear when we renewed with them in 2010, but I sure hope they kept the receipt and warranty information.

I miss the old-school board that was on the Shewey - the one that gave you passing, rushing, and total yardage statistics for both teams throughout the game. I wish they'd have left that and focused their resources into the main endzone board, maybe added the speakers on top of the Shewey (that had been promised but were eventually cut out of the deal). I guess the fear was that if we had a scoreboard that had stats on it, we'd all be too busy watching a football game to notice the ads on the other board.

Yeah, IMG has done such a "bang up" job in growing our IMG/Thundering Herd radio network, which currently is more non-existent throughout WV than ever before, why would anyone expect them to do a quality, first class job with the scoreboards??

 

[herdalicious]

In IMG's defense, they are tasked with making money, its not a 501(c). And schools apparently prefer their services as opposed to doing their own marketing and promotional sales in-house, otherwise they wouldn't have deals with schools all over the country.

To me though, its all evidence of what's squeezed most of the dignity out of college sports - everybody is playing this "arms race," trying to extend budgets and puff up numbers, so you lease all available surfaces in your stadium/arena to an unaffiliated marketing company for a slight uptick in funds, and you wind up with an awesome new video board....that's surface is permanently covered in ads and never shows a replay.

 

[herdit44]

Yeah, IMG has done such a "bang up" job in growing our IMG/Thundering Herd radio network, which currently is more non-existent throughout WV than ever before, why would anyone expect them to do a quality, first class job with the scoreboards??

radio is pretty much non-existent these days.

 

[The Real SamC]

Assuming the information on herdzone is accurate, the radio network seems to cover the region well. We even have stations deep in Spamland and even in Martinsburg, more than 5 hours away. What places do you think the radio could be improved? Especially considering you can listen on the internet for free and that every game is on TV anyway?

As to the scoreboard, it seems that is how this works. You sign a deal with IMG or one of its competitors and you get a new this and a new that and you live with it until the next renewal comes up.

As to the whole rap "music" thing, rap is garbage. The music at a football game is supposed to come from the marching band.

 

[bbneutralfan]

I hope - so we are not embarrassed facility wise on national television, the athletic department is diligently working to have the scoreboard pixels repaired so that we look like what we are supposed to be - a D1 program that is not on the cheap. Moreover, I honestly hope that MH has plans to renovate all the toilets in the JCE Stadium (installed 1991) and Henderson Center. All need to be updated and replaced.

 

[oldeherd]

radio is pretty much non-existent these days.

Drive around WV on any Saturday and see how "non-existent" the radio broadcasts of WVU games are, herdit44. MU needs to attract the "casual" football fan, one who has no real ties to the school. Hey, if you live 2-3 hours from Huntington, and you have no exposure to MU through the media, then what would increase your interest in Herd sports to make you want to come to Huntington and see a live game? Casual fans listen to radio while driving- - -WVU games are all across the dial, constant advertising for tickets, game info, etc., etc. MU, not so much. IMG partnership, joke that it is, has seen our radio network outlets shrink over the years, and many, many outlets are "low power" AM stations that have minimal range at night. And, yes, most of our football games and certainly basketball games are "at night"!!!

Again, the average person, football fan, etc., around WV is not going to spend a lot of time on the internet searching for some obscure site or "middle eastern" tv network to find Herd broadcasts or telecasts. Heck, I can't find the so call "live streaming" of Herd sports events, radio shows, etc., on our Huntington flagship station and its 1980 "state of the obsolete" technology. WRVC apparently has an "on again, off again" policy of streaming the daily sports show on which Paul and Woody discuss Herd, and other, sports. Same applies to its "podcasts" of their show, which have not been available since August. As a longtime Herd fan, if I find it frustrating trying to have regular access to Herd sports via media like radio, then why would a casual fan, or potential Herd fans, even spend a minute trying to locate Herd sports

 

[The Real SamC]

Drive around WV on any Saturday and see how "non-existent" the radio broadcasts of WVU games are...

MU needs to attract the "casual" football fan, one who has no real ties to the school. Hey, if you live 2-3 hours from Huntington, and you have no exposure to MU through the media,

Casual fans listen to radio while driving- - -WVU games are all across the dial, constant advertising for tickets, game info, etc., etc.

IMG partnership, joke that it is

I disagree.

First, you do understand that WVU (and 80% of colleges) radio network is run by, umm, IMG.

Because of its well documented feud with Raese, WVU has several holes in its radio network. It really has two rimshots for Beckley. Neither of which are local to Lewisburg. And neither its Charleston nor Huntington (and every son and daughter of Marshall, at least once per year, should tie up as much time with a local Huntington WVU ad buyer, preferably a car lot, as possible, and just before signing for the sale, tell them to try to sell it in northern WV and to kiss your Marshall ass, it is SHAMEFUL that WVU sports are on radio in Huntington, the radio station's owners should be ASHAMED and the ad buyers are DISLOYAL) can really be received well in-between. Its Charleston and Morganhole stations play music for post-menopausals other than game time and neither are a place a "casual fan" is likely to have pre-set.

I will agree that TV stations outside this market do not carry MU coverage, and one in it does not (the one whose local news ratings are DEAD LAST and which was just sold at a huge loss) and I will agree that WVU has its Statewide Excuse Line. Where idiotic spew is fed to the unwashed masses. The funny thing is these people ACTUALLY BELIEVE what they are told. They ACTUALLY BELIEVE things so stupid that no thinking person can even take it seriously. That show turns away more people than it brings in. Anybody with an IQ over 80 is repulsed by it.

And we all know who carries the Statewide Excuse Line in Huntington. It is wrong that they do it. It should not carry the show and no local business should buy an ad on the show. They should be ashamed.

 

[Herdmeister]

Assuming the information on herdzone is accurate, the radio network seems to cover the region well. We even have stations deep in Spamland and even in Martinsburg, more than 5 hours away. What places do you think the radio could be improved? Especially considering you can listen on the internet for free and that every game is on TV anyway?

As to the scoreboard, it seems that is how this works. You sign a deal with IMG or one of its competitors and you get a new this and a new that and you live with it until the next renewal comes up.

As to the whole rap "music" thing, rap is garbage. The music at a football game is supposed to come from the marching band.

Mike announced last week on his radio show that an architect has been hired to enlarge the concourse, add restrooms and renovate the existing restrooms.

 

[herdit44]

Drive around WV on any Saturday and see how "non-existent" the radio broadcasts of WVU games are, herdit44. MU needs to attract the "casual" football fan, one who has no real ties to the school. Hey, if you live 2-3 hours from Huntington, and you have no exposure to MU through the media, then what would increase your interest in Herd sports to make you want to come to Huntington and see a live game? Casual fans listen to radio while driving- - -WVU games are all across the dial, constant advertising for tickets, game info, etc., etc. MU, not so much. IMG partnership, joke that it is, has seen our radio network outlets shrink over the years, and many, many outlets are "low power" AM stations that have minimal range at night. And, yes, most of our football games and certainly basketball games are "at night"!!!

Again, the average person, football fan, etc., around WV is not going to spend a lot of time on the internet searching for some obscure site or "middle eastern" tv network to find Herd broadcasts or telecasts. Heck, I can't find the so call "live streaming" of Herd sports events, radio shows, etc., on our Huntington flagship station and its 1980 "state of the obsolete" technology. WRVC apparently has an "on again, off again" policy of streaming the daily sports show on which Paul and Woody discuss Herd, and other, sports. Same applies to its "podcasts" of their show, which have not been available since August. As a longtime Herd fan, if I find it frustrating trying to have regular access to Herd sports via media like radio, then why would a casual fan, or potential Herd fans, even spend a minute trying to locate Herd sports

again, with the majority of fbs games available on television and/or streaming, with the rise in satellite radio and streaming radio from your smart phone, ratings for broadcast over the air radio is pretty much non-existent these days.

 

[fedale]

I would LOVE to have a scoreboard that shows updated stats throughout the game.

I would love if the ribbon boards or 75% of the main scoreboards would show something other than advertisements.

Seriously, we got all those boards and they literally show nothing else other than advertisements the whole game. And we got the huge scoreboard and they rarely... if ever use the whole board and instead just fill it up with ads... even on replays it puts it in that small box thats about as small as our old scoreboard.

Makes no sense.

 

[jkcoltsfan18]

I would love if the ribbon boards or 75% of the main scoreboards would show something other than advertisements.

Seriously, we got all those boards and they literally show nothing else other than advertisements the whole game. And we got the huge scoreboard and they rarely... if ever use the whole board and instead just fill it up with ads... even on replays it puts it in that small box thats about as small as our old scoreboard.

Makes no sense.

I am sure it makes quite a bit of cents. All hail the mighty dollar.

 

[The Real SamC]

Makes no sense.

Makes perfect sense. This is a part of the "third tier" rights system, which in CUSA means radio, stadium display advertizing, coach's TV and radio shows, internet site, and events. IMG is a business and, at the end of the day, MU sports is a business. Rather than bitch about the ads, notice who buys ads and who does not and shop GREEN (and I don't mean tree hugger green) evey chance you can and let businesses know why.

 

[The Real SamC]

Radio. Just for fun, I looked at the radio networks from around CUSA. MU is so very far ahead of anybody else it is apples to oranges. MU has affilites in every market in WV except Keyser. Beckley, Bluefied-Princeton, Charleston (powerful FM), Fairmont, Lewisburg, Logan, Martinsburg (5 hours away), Mullens, Ravenswood-Ripley, Parkersburg, Point Pleasant, Summersville, Wheeling (what a great job getting on in Wheeling) and Williamson. And of course FM in Huntington. Great statewide network. And Portsmouth and Paintsville.

Rest of CUSA. FAU has 3 stations, just its local area. FIU has one. LTU has a good network around its part of Louisiana, 7 stations, but no statewide presence. Southern Miss is about the same, regional to its part of Mississippi, not statewide. Middle has 3 stations in its local area, none offically in Nashville and none elsewhere in the state. WKU is second to us with 8 markets covered in what is really south central Kentucky (Murray is in what is really western Kentucky) including a station in Louisville. ODU looks suprisingly good with coverage in the Tidewater, Richmond and Lynchburg. The rest have a single station in their own towns and that is all. And everybody has a deal with IMG or its competitor Learfield.

And, just for fun, looking at the mighty AAC. UCF covers just the Orlando metro area and a couple of other markets. ECU is, apparently (bad website) just on in Greenville, which is not surprising. Memphis is just Memphis and a couple of towns in west Tennessee. Houston is just Houston and Galveston. USF is actually pretty good with stations in 4 big markets (Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami and Tampa).

Whoever is handeling the MU radio sales is doing a GREAT job and deserves our praise, not our scorn.

And this is just another reason why MU is light years ahead of any other choice IF we choose to pursue the AAC. Light years ahead. Because of our fan base.

 

[PushupMan]

Lmao thank goodness someone else mentioned it hahaha i know it is nitpicking but cmon the home opener and we cant even ensure the video screens are working properly. Jumbotron had a small square but the whole bottom right corner of the other one was missing. Couldnt even hardly see the ads on the bottom corner. Also the scanners to scan tickets was messing up pretty bad the guy told me "these things just sit in a closet all year til the season starts and they dont work right when you store them that way. Ive already had to trade out about ten of these today".... umm maybe checking equipment prior to game day would be a good idea if that is the case. It isn't like we didnt know the season was about to start and didnt have time to correct the issues. Oh well though Herd won and that is all that really matters.

This is the electrical engineer coming out in me ... these devices have batteries in them, and all batteries have a shelf life. It should be standard practice to replace the batteries before the start of the next season.

 

[TwolfHerdfan]

Markets rule!

 

[oldeherd]

Radio. Just for fun, I looked at the radio networks from around CUSA. MU is so very far ahead of anybody else it is apples to oranges. MU has affilites in every market in WV except Keyser. Beckley, Bluefied-Princeton, Charleston (powerful FM), Fairmont, Lewisburg, Logan, Martinsburg (5 hours away), Mullens, Ravenswood-Ripley, Parkersburg, Point Pleasant, Summersville, Wheeling (what a great job getting on in Wheeling) and Williamson. And of course FM in Huntington. Great statewide network. And Portsmouth and Paintsville.

Rest of CUSA. FAU has 3 stations, just its local area. FIU has one. LTU has a good network around its part of Louisiana, 7 stations, but no statewide presence. Southern Miss is about the same, regional to its part of Mississippi, not statewide. Middle has 3 stations in its local area, none offically in Nashville and none elsewhere in the state. WKU is second to us with 8 markets covered in what is really south central Kentucky (Murray is in what is really western Kentucky) including a station in Louisville. ODU looks suprisingly good with coverage in the Tidewater, Richmond and Lynchburg. The rest have a single station in their own towns and that is all. And everybody has a deal with IMG or its competitor Learfield.

And, just for fun, looking at the mighty AAC. UCF covers just the Orlando metro area and a couple of other markets. ECU is, apparently (bad website) just on in Greenville, which is not surprising. Memphis is just Memphis and a couple of towns in west Tennessee. Houston is just Houston and Galveston. USF is actually pretty good with stations in 4 big markets (Jacksonville, Orlando, Miami and Tampa).

Whoever is handeling the MU radio sales is doing a GREAT job and deserves our praise, not our scorn.

And this is just another reason why MU is light years ahead of any other choice IF we choose to pursue the AAC. Light years ahead. Because of our fan base.

SAMC, you do realize that if you have 1 or 2 outlets in places like Miami (FIU, FAU), or Orlando (UCF), you probably are REACHING MORE PEOPLE than all the outlets in WV combined!!!! Tidewater-Richmond areas alone have far more population than the whole state of WV. Sorry, but MU's outlets that you mentioned in many areas of this state are AM only, meaning essentially NO coverage at night. Would be interested in finding a "powerful" FM outlet in Charleston area, because, believe it or not, the Herd's Huntington flagship outlets fade out almost completely somewhere between Milton and Hurricane at night. As for other areas, I'm talking about locations like Beckley, Bluefield-Princeton, etc., which should be NATURAL AREAS WHERE MU NEEDS TO GROW FAN SUPPORT. Also, some of Herd network stations often carry local high school sports and will preempt MU games, coaches' shows, etc., further reducing Herd exposure is said areas. Network may look good on paper, but can always stand improvement in expanding coverage of Herd sports.

 

[The Real SamC]

SAMC, you do realize that if you have 1 or 2 outlets in places like Miami (FIU, FAU), or Orlando (UCF), you probably are REACHING MORE PEOPLE than all the outlets in WV combined!!!!